Planning for the outside from the inside : female prisoners' experience of pre-release and the construction of a new life

There is a significant volume of research into the way in which offenders desist from crime, their resettlement and re-entry into society after prison. However, as is too often the case in criminological research, women are underrepresented in these areas of investigation and there is currently no UK study on the prison based resettlement practices of women prisoners and the relation this has to desistence. This research therefore aims to investigate how women in the last three months of a prison sentence plan and prepare for their release. Using data generated from interviews with women prisoners and prison staff over a 13 month period in a closed women's prison in England, I will argue that women prisoners have significant motivation and desire to desist from crime post release but their attempts to plan for release are hindered by a responsibilization discourse that runs throughout the prison and by a severe lack in all forms of capital (social, cultural, economic and symbolic). This results in many women being released with little support in place to help them achieve their aims of a crime free life in the future.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Ph.D.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Leeds

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Hart, Emily Luise